title: Outcomes of patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the minor salivary glands.
abstract: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a tumour of glandular cells responsible for 10% of salivary gland neoplasms. It has a high rate of perineural spread but limited involvement of regional lymphatics even in late stage disease. Early survival is typically good (60-90%) although long term survival is poor with spread to distant sites in 40-60% of cases. The authors performed a retrospective review of clinical and pathological records for 24 patients managed by their institution over a 22-year period. The overall 5, 10 and 20-year survival rates in this study were 92%, 72% and 54%, respectively. Perineural invasion was seen in 63% and close or positive margins seen in 64% of all primary resection specimens although survival was not associated with any clinical factor other than the initial size of lesion. Most patients presented complaining of a lump, whilst a burning neuralgia-type pain was the second most common symptom. The study confirms the conclusion of previous studies that tumour size at diagnosis is the most important predictor of outcome.
authors.affiliation: Head and Neck Oncology Tumour Stream, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: DeAngelis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wiesenfeld
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chandu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003528:Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012470:Salivary Glands, Minor / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000175:diagnosis